What is Edamame?
These are green pods beans of soybeans, it all started from china that to it has a history which
is 7000 years old, almost whole east Asia they are used as good food, like vegetables, they are
quite popular they became popular in the US, and in Europe only very recently, and almost
known in most part of the world,(1)
Although soybeans is a very important commercial crop and soybeans are used in a very big
way in the food chain but edamame is not that successful full, still, they are only popular in
certain areas, now because of very good protein values, there is a very good possibility that
they may become major food items, so let's examine what they have very special,(2)
Nutritional Values
Nutritional values for, 1/2-cup,110 -gram,4-oz, cooked, shelled edamame serving
-Calories........... 120
-Carbohydrate......... 13-gram
-Fiber.......... 9-gram
-Fat.......... 2.5-gram
in these
-Polyunsaturated fat 1.5-gram
-Omega-3.................... 0.3-gram
-Mono-unsaturated fat... .0.5-gram
-Protein......... ............ 11-gram
-Vitamins
-Vitamin C ............ DV-10%
-Vitamin A ............. DV-8%
-Minerals
-Iron..... ........ ..... DV-10%
-Calcium....... ......... DV-4%
-Sodium...... ............ 15-mg
Apart from all this it also has, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese,
selenium, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and folate in small amounts,(3)
let's see
So, what is an amino acid profile?
It has a very impressive amino acid profile, for one-cup,155-gram, DV percentage, and RDI,
(recommended daily intake), the percentage for 9-amino acids means essential amino acids
are given below
Calories....... ..188...... ..9% DV
Protein............18.5-gram...... .37%DV
Tryptophan........ 195-mg.......70% RDI
Threonine......... 513-mg.......49% RDI
Isoleucine ..... 465-mg,.......33%RDI
Leucine............ 1155-mg..... .42%RDI
Lysine......... 1155-mg..... .55%RDI
Methionine..... 219-mg...... .30%RDI
Cystine...... 192-mg.......67% RDI
Phenylalanine.......756-mg... ..86%RDI
Tyrosine .............. 521-mg.... ..60%RDI
Valine..... ......... 502-mg..... .28%RDI
Histidine...... 414-mg.... ..59%RDI
Apart from these 9-essential amino acids it also has other amino acids and these are
Serine, Proline, Glycine, Glutamic acids, Betaine, Aspartic acids, Alanine, Arginine in
very good amounts, they all provide great health benefits,(4)
What is the Glycemic Index of Edamame?
Glycemic index, is a marker for food that indicates that how much that food can raise
blood sugar levels, its very basic guidelines for diabetic patients, all foods are divided in
3-categories
-Low GI foods.................GI values less than 55
-Medium GI foods........ ..GI values between 55 and 69
-High GI foods......... GI values more than 70
just for an idea
Rice............. 78+-9
Potatos........ 78+-4
and
Edamame...... 18
It has very good quantities of isoflavones
Isoflavones are very well established antioxidants and surprisingly the edamame is full of
them, it's in very high amounts in comparison to other natural sources, for example, isoflavone
content of some products are listed below to give you some idea
ISOFLAVONE CONTENT IN 100-GRAM
Pistachios....... 3.63-mg
Red Clover...... 21-mg
Snack Bars, Cliff bar....26-mg
Edamame.... 48-mg
Does edamame is a complete protein?
Yes, very much you your self can see it has all 9-essential amino acids, that makes it very good
plant protein source
Where it can be combined with another protein source?
Yes, this is a very good candidate for combining, it's very rich in lysine, so it can be used
with other plant proteins which does not have much lysine, some of them as an example can be
rice and wheat, these both have a very poor amount of lysine so if you take rice with edamame
it makes very good quality food
What are the overall health benefits of Edamame?
Edamame is an overall very healthy food product
Very high protein source
One cup, 155-gram, cooked edamame provides an 18.5-gram very good quality complete
protein, so it's really very good for vegetarians and vegans, they can eat it on an everyday basis
It's diabetic friendly
Although it has carbohydrates,but its glycemic index is very low, which means it does not
increase blood sugar levels
It may lower cholesterol
Studies conclude that eating soy protein, 47-gram per day can lower bad cholesterol, LDL
by12.9%and total cholesterol by 9.3%, so it's helpful in the prevention of heart diseases
It's a very good source of antioxidants and vitamin-K
The antioxidants have their own benefits in a very big way
It can reduce the risk of breast cancer
We have very mixed reports it seems more research is needed but initial indications
are indicating that it may be beneficial in breast cancer
It may reduce menopausal symptoms
This natural condition often associated with some adverse symptoms, like hot flashes
mood swings and sweating, studies have reported that soybeans can reduce these
symptoms
It may reduce the risk in prostate cancer
Here also more research data is needed but one research study indicates that soya
products can reduce the 30% risk of prostate cancer
It may reduce bone-loss
The research study is conducted on isolated isoflavone from soybeans, not on soy food
and it indicates that it protects from osteoporosis
It may improve fertility
Research suggests that there are good overall benefits by eating soy products in the
area of fertility
It reduces blood pressure
Although there are mixed results but whatever studies have been done indicates a small
reduction in blood pressure
Does there anything negative also?
We have told all very good about edamame, is there any point we have to mention which
is negative, yes there is a research study that reports
-there are some rare products in soya which interfere in thyroid functions, but this research
is only conducted, in test-tube and animal studies, no report from any human studies
-soya has some compounds which an estrogenic-mimicking effect, there is some worry that
it may reduce testosterone production in men, which can create feminizing in men, however,
we don't have any research input here
-it also has some ingredients which interfere in the body ability to absorption of vitamins and
minerals, however soaking, sprouting, fermenting and cooking can reduce this activity
-digestive issues are also come up they are that it reduces gut functions
- there is also a question on genetically modified crops, GMO-soybeans, as we hardly have much
research input on their long term health effects
Does it easy to cook edamame?
It seems that it is very easy, it works more like vegetables, only 3-to-5-minutes boiling is
sufficient for cooking, and it goes also very well with a lot of other vegetables and with rice
So, what we have to say from plant sources of protein?
We very strongly recommend for all those who are looking a very good plant protein
not only it has a complete protein but very rich in isoflavones, other antioxidants, vitamins
and micronutrients, so we don't think any other plant protein can match these benefits, and
someone who does not eat meat, like vegetarians it will be almost must to include in
their daily food
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